The Ditch the Plastic Initiative
why it matters
Every day millions of people prepare food on plastic cutting boards without giving it a second thought. This page exists in an effort to change that. Not to sell you something. Just to share what we know and let you decide for yourself.
Every Cut Leaves a Mark
Plastic cutting boards seem like the practical choice. They are lightweight, inexpensive, and easy to find. But every time a knife blade drags across a plastic surface it leaves a mark. And inside every one of those marks is a groove that traps food, bacteria, and something most people have never considered, tiny fragments of plastic.
Researchers have found that plastic cutting boards shed microplastic particles directly into food during everyday use. The harder you cut, the more you get. Those particles do not wash off. They end up on your plate, in your food, and eventually in your body. The science on what that means long term is still developing but the question worth asking is a simple one. Why take the chance?
A Long Term Problem
When a hardwood board finally reaches the end of its life it breaks down naturally. It is organic material. Given time and the right conditions it returns to the earth the same way a fallen tree does. No lasting footprint. No synthetic residue.
Plastic boards do not work that way. Whether they end up in a landfill, a waterway, or the ocean, they do not disappear. They fragment. Over decades and centuries a single plastic cutting board breaks down into millions upon millions of microscopic particles that work their way into the soil, the water, and eventually the food chain. The same microplastics showing up in human blood, organs, and breast milk had to come from somewhere. Landfills, waterways, and oceans full of plastic products are a significant part of that story.
A hardwood board is a long term investment in your kitchen. A plastic board is a long term problem for everything outside of it.
What Wood Does Differently
Simply put, when wood leaves a trace it is natural, harmless, and unimpactful. When plastic does, it is none of those things. Cutting into wood does not release synthetic particles into your food. What stays on your board is wood, a material humans have used as a food prep surface for centuries.
Additionally, hardwoods contain natural compounds that actively work against bacteria on the cutting surface. Wood also draws moisture inward pulling bacteria beneath the surface where they die off rather than sitting on top where they can spread. A well maintained hardwood board is not just better for what goes into your food and ultimately your body. It is better for keeping harmful things out.
Unlike plastic boards that dull, stain, and warp over time, a hardwood board gets better with age. Properly cared for it will functionally outlast any plastic board you have ever owned.
It Comes Down to This
You don't have to be a scientist or a doctor to make this call. Ask yourself one question. What do I want touching my food every single day?
Microplastics have been found in human blood, saliva, lungs, liver, kidneys, brain tissue, heart muscle, the placenta, and breast milk. Research suggests they can be especially harmful to pregnant women and their developing child. Scientists are actively investigating links to inflammation, hormonal disruption, gut microbiome damage, cardiovascular disease, and potential cancer ties. The science on what long term exposure means is still developing. What we do know is that it is raising more questions than it is answering. And while the research catches up, the exposure continues, three times a day, every time you prep a meal on a plastic surface.
Plastics do have their place in this world. But as a cutting surface, your common choices are the highly processed synthetic material or the simple, completely natural one.
Wood.
A little about us
We build handcrafted hardwood cutting boards, kitchen utensils and a range of other items in small batches in West Jordan, Utah. Every item is made by hand from carefully selected hardwoods. Our food contact items are finished with a food safe conditioner before they leave the shop.
We started Wild Board Studio because we believe in making things that last. Things built from natural materials by hand. The more we learned about what plastic cutting boards were doing to the food on our tables and the world around us, the more we felt a responsibility to say something about it. Not just make better boards. But make the case for why it matters.
The Ditch the Plastic Initiative is that case. We are not a large company with a marketing budget behind this. We are a small shop in Utah that makes cutting boards and believes the conversation is worth having. If this page changes one person's mind, it was worth building.
Join the Initiative
Share this page. Talk about it. Ask questions about what is on your cutting board and what it's made of. Think about the people in your life who are still prepping food on plastic every day and send it their way. The more people who know, the better.
And when you’re ready to make the switch, we hope you consider us for your next forever board.